He's back - Gaizka Mendieta took centre stage as Boro turned on the style at Old Trafford yet again.

The Spanish star, returning in the centre of midfield, ran the show as Boro came within nine minutes of grabbing a third win in three visits to Manchester United.

Mendieta, Bolo Zenden and George Boateng formed an effective midfield triangle which dominated play for the first three quarters of the game.

Eventually fatigue, and United's increasing dominance on the flanks, took its toll.

But, all things considered, this was one of the great Boro performances.

Without six first team regulars, and handing first Premiership starts to 18-year-olds Tony McMahon and James Morrison, Boro could have been excused for believing the odds were strongly in United's favour.

But nobody had handed in the script to the Boro dressing room.

Boro came out with a positive and committed approach and were full value for their 33rd minute lead, courtesy of Morrison's strong run.

The teenager ghosted past Gabriel Heinze before drilling a hard, low cross through the goalmouth which was stabbed home at the far post by Stewart Downing.

Boro might well have settled the issue in 65 minutes when a cross from Szilard Nemeth was back-heeled by Zenden to leave Mendieta with only goalkeeper Roy Carroll to beat, but the Spaniard blazed his effort over the bar.

It was a frustrating miss but, apart from just a couple of misplaced passes, Mendieta was magnificent.

It was incredible to think he had not kicked a first team ball since August.

The three-man midfield worked so well that Steve McClaren, who got his game plan absolutely spot on again, has been given plenty of food for thought.

Leaving Nemeth as a lone striker was not particularly effective because the Slovak faced a tough task against Rio Ferdinand and Mikael Silvestre.

But the midfield five, with Downing and Morrison using their pace to work the flanks a treat, were very, very strong.

In addition, the youthful vigour of Morrison and Downing offers the team something which McClaren's anticipated first choice team does not possess.

They provided pace and penetration - and also a goal.

Morrison's arrival on the scene is a major bonus, and McMahon has every reason to hold his head high this week.

The Bishop Auckland lad could not have a more daunting debut, but he did extremely wll.

At times he was marking Ryan Giggs, on other occasions Ronaldo, but McMahon was never out of his depth.

McClaren, having discovered on Thursday Morrison can operate comfortably at this level, now knows the same about McMahon.

Elsewhere in the defence, Gareth Southgate and the returning Chris Riggott must have been delighted in the first half to see Wayne Rooney dropping so deep in an attempt to get the ball.

They did face problems in the second half, as Alan Smith came on to join Ruud van Nistelrooy up front.

But the defensive duo were brilliant and deserved better than to see the team finally concede in the 81st minute.

Southgate deflected a shot and, although the ball seemed to be running out for a corner, Ronaldo raced to gather it.

His quick thinking left Boro with no chance to re-organise and Ronaldo's chip into the middle was powered home by the head of Smith.

Afterwards Boro might have lost it, Gary Neville missing an open goal.

But a point was not to be sniffed at and, as McClaren said afterwards, this remarkable team performance tended to overshadow the result.